The American Quarter Horse: population structure and relationship to the thoroughbred.

ABSTRACT: A breed known for its versatility, the American Quarter Horse (QH), is increasingly bred for performance in specific disciplines. The impact of selective breeding on the diversity and structure of the QH breed was evaluated using pedigree analysis and genome-wide SNP data from horses representing 6 performance groups (halter, western pleasure, reining, working cow, cutting, and racing). Genotype data (36 037 single nucleotide polymorphisms [SNPs]) from 36 Thoroughbreds were also evaluated with those from the 132 performing QHs to evaluate the Thoroughbred's influence on QH diversity. Results showed significant population structure among all QH performance groups excepting the comparison between the cutting and working cow horses; divergence was greatest between the cutting and racing QHs,

SUBMITTER: Petersen JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3920813 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature